Frances Chetwynd Chris Dobbyn The Open University. UK Consistency v Autonomy: effective feedback to...
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Transcript of Frances Chetwynd Chris Dobbyn The Open University. UK Consistency v Autonomy: effective feedback to...
Frances ChetwyndChris Dobbyn
The Open University. UK
Consistency v
Autonomy:
effective feedback
to a very large
cohort
13/04/2012HEA Stem Conference 2012
Introduction
Project: Investigating major changes to assessment and feedback on a new module
DiscussionWhy make changes?What changes were made?Views on changes?
13/04/2012HEA Stem Conference 2012
TU100: My Digital Life
60 credits with extremely varied teaching material
4500 students and 200 tutors
Poor retention and progression levels in predecessor courses
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4,500 different combinations
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Image: Ralph Greenwell
Sense Board with a specially-designed language, Sense
Challenges
Build skills for future, self-regulated learning
Create “joined-up” assessment
Improve retention and progression
Change a tutor culture deeply wedded to marks
Preserve consistency at the same time as promoting tutor autonomy
13/04/2012HEA Stem Conference 2012
Earlier research findingsChetwynd & Dobbyn (2011)
reported problem in the areas of: Assignment questions Marking guidance Tutor feedback practices
Motivation of Marking Guides was consistency of marking over feedback
Effective feedback essential for building independent, self-regulated learners (Nicol 2008)
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New feedback taxonomy
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Chetwynd & Dobbyn (2011)
A new project
Research project based on TU100 My Digital Life
New assessment materials and assessment style
New approach to tutor advice
Evaluation
Identify “choke points” in the course as potential targets for remedial material
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New assessment materials
Explicit testing of skills
e.g. “List the instructions your program will step through in order to parse the RSS feed…”
e.g. “To help you structure your answer, sample reports are given as answers to Block 2 Part 3 Activity 29 and Block 2 Part 5 Activity 18.”
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New assessment materials
Explicit concentration on skills
80% Assignment questions: 20% skills mark
English language usage
Programming skills
Structure/layout
Numeracy (scientific notation; units)
Referencing
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New Tutor Guides
Emphasis on feedback rather than marks
New content Explicit feedback advice Separation of retrospective and
future-altering feedback advice
New structure Separation of skills and content
feedback advice
Repetitive guidance removed
Granularity of marks reduced
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Evaluation
1. Selected group of tutors; semi-structured interviews
Before first assignmentHalf way through moduleAfter EMA marking
2. Monitoring reports
3. End of presentation survey
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Preliminary results from interviews
Varying degrees of enthusiasm!All liked – focus on skills;
future-altering adviceSome liked – marks
granularity; new structureSome disliked – greater
freedom; separation of skills
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Preliminary results from interviews
“Has made me think about things differently…”
“…Not completely confident about how to tackle
skills aspects…”
“I could see the flow of questions and where they were going …”
“…Sometimes difficult to make retrospective feedback more
positive”13/04/2012HEA Stem Conference 2012
13/04/2012HEA Stem Conference 2012
References
Brown, E. and Glover, C. (2006) Evaluating written feedback. In Innovative Assessment in Higher Education C. Bryan & K. Clegg 81-91. Abingdon: Routledge.
Crisp, B. (2007). Is it worth the effort? How feedback influences students’ subsequent submission of assessable work. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 32(5), pp. 571-581.
Chetwynd, F. D. & Dobbyn, C. (2011): Assessment, feedback and marking guides in distance education, Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 26(1), pp. 67-78.
Gibbs, G. (2010) Does assessment in open learning support students? Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 25(2), pp. 163 — 166.
Gibbs, G. & Simpson, C. (2004) Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1, pp. 3-31.
Hounsell, D. (2007) Towards more sustainable feedback. In Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education D. Boud & N. Falchikov (Eds) 101-113 Abingdon: Routledge.
Lea, M. R. & Stierer, B. V. eds. (2000) Student writing in higher education, new contexts, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Lea, M. R. & Street, B. V. (1998) Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach, Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), pp. 157-172.
Nicol, D. (2008) Transforming assessment and feedback: Enhancing integration and empowerment in the first year. Quality Assurance Agency, Scotland.
Nicol, D. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 199-218.
Price, M., Carroll, J., O’Donovan, B. & Rust, C. (2011) If I was going there I wouldn’t start from here: a critical commentary on current assessment practice, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(4), pp. 479-492.
Sadler, D. R. (1989) Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems, Instructional Science, 18(1), pp. 19-144.
Walker, M. (2009) An investigation into written comments on assignments: do students find them usable? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(1), pp. 67-78.
Weaver, R. (2006) Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors’ written comments. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), pp. 379-394.